February 23, 2007

The Mirassou Winery: What’s next?

Long historical landmark study inches toward final decision

By Carol Rosen
Staff Writer

Recently, vandals sprayed graffiti on the Mirassou property near Ruby Avenue and Quimby Road. And while the graffiti was quickly painted over, the site of the Mirassou Winery vandalized begged the question: what is happening to the 15-acre site, which was placed on the city’s Historic Resources Inventory in 2005?

Snail’s pace
At this point, nothing has been decided about the site or its buildings, which include the Heritage House, where the early 20th century Mirassous lived and which some suggest was built around 1905. Other buildings on the site are said to date from 1924 to 1937.

In those days, said Bonnie Bamburg, the founding President of History San Jose, people used to drive out and visit the winery and the kids used to play among the grape vines. She was first introduced to the winery in the early 1970s when she helped plan the 125th anniversary of Mirassou.

“Before the wine industry really boomed, people [from the area] would come out to Mirassou and drink with the owners. That was generations ago, before the wine industry became what it is today,” said Dave Erickson, the former tasting room manager who locked the door to the La Rochelle tasting room four years ago. (After the Mirassou name was sold to Gallo, and before it closed, the family changed the name to La Rochelle.)

The Mirassou Heritage House, where the early 20th century Mirassou family lived, now sits fenced off with windows boarded up, as a study continues to determine if the site, and which buildings on the site, should be considered San Jose historical landmarks.

Others remember the winery and tasting room more recently, as a site for special events, such as weddings, dinners or corporate outings.

“It was a community gathering place for the whole valley,” said Missy Marsh, an Evergreen resident who was a volunteer at the winery.

Marsh remembers educating people about the history of the winery and the wines made there, as well as a number of special events that were held on the site.

Currently, another member of the Mirassou family [Steven Kent Mirassou] operates a winery in Livermore under the La Rochelle name, where Marsh now volunteers.

Putting the Evergreen site on the Historic Resources Inventory is a precursor to its becoming a historical landmark. Although it appears the project is on hold, there are a couple of things going on that could change that scenario.
Contract with developer

First the Mirassou trust, which includes some of the sixth generation of the winery’s original owner, Pierre Pellier, and is comprised of the children of fifth generation owners Daniel, Peter and James Mirassou, has a contract with Trumark Companies, a developer out of Danville, to purchase the entire 15 acres. However, before any deals can be made and land purchased, San Jose’s Landmarks Commission must decide if all the buildings and the surrounding land will be named a historical landmark.

Trumark has hired Bamburg, who is part of the city’s Landmark Commission, to determine the history of the 15-acre parcel. She is collecting and putting together information for use by both the city and Trumark. She’s been working on the project for about two months and is as yet unsure when she will finish.

Blotches of slightly darker paint cover up recently spray painted tags by vandals on the Mirassou Heritage House.

“I don’t have a time frame, and I can’t tell how quickly I will finish,” she said.

“I know that some of the property left will be retained in some way,” she added. “They [the trust members] can’t do too much until we collect the information and the city does its thing. It’s down the road.”

Christ Davenport, senior vice president for Trumark, also agreed that the process is in its early stages. He said that nothing will be done until the Evergreen East Hills Visioning Strategy project is finished and Bamburg completes her study.

But he also noted, “it’s an exciting property. It’s the only vacant area around [Evergreen]. But it’s in the background right now because of the EEHVS.”

And while Trumark is looking at several different ideas on what to do with the property—for example, how many homes to build per acre—it currently is too early to discuss those issues, “because we don’t know what will be preserved and has to be integrated into our designs,” Davenport said.

But he added that developing the area would be beneficial to the city and to Evergreen Square. It would increase usage of the retail stores in the square, he said, and some of the land could potentially turn into a restaurant to fill the needs of area residents.

“There certainly are a lot of eyes watching. It’s a beautiful winery, but it hasn’t been maintained [since it closed]. We have to have it usable, it’s the history of the area and of Mirassou,” Davenport said.